Today, nearly four billion people live at the base of the economic pyramid, surviving on less than two dollars a day1. A vast majority of these people are excluded from access to basic financial services.

Visa believes access to financial services is essential for progress. Financial inclusion moves people from being untapped and isolated members of our economic system to thriving and contributing participants. With increased financial security and the ability to manage their assets, the financially underserved have a greater ability to send their children to school, provide a safe home and pay for healthcare for their families. And through access to financial products and services and the tools and knowledge to manage their finances, they have the opportunity to become more entrepreneurial — to create economic opportunities for themselves, their families and their communities.

As a global payments technology company, Visa sees the most valuable contribution we can make is to help bring more people into the formal financial system. We do so by creating pathways to financial inclusion for the financially underserved through our:

Improving access to financial services and electronic payments is a critical building block to help more people improve their lives and lift themselves out of poverty. As more people connect to the global network, they are given new tools to help them grow, and each of us benefits from their progress in an increasingly interconnected world.

1The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits, by C.K. Prahalad